Suba's Recipes

This post explains the preparation of sweet and salt adai which are offered as neivedhyam during the karadaiyan nombu function. For more details on this function, check my post about the festival.                                                   This year the festival falls on  Wednesday, March 14th 2018 .

This is the 100th post in my blog and hence wanted to post a sweet recipe. I came to know about the world of food blogs only 3 years back. When I started to browse for some new recipes, found many blogs with some wonderful recipes. I also started to understand that food blogging is not just about posting recipes; Photography and food styling play a key role in attracting the readers.  I started this food blog 2 years back just as a way of recording my recipes during my free time when my kid started school. During my initial days, I was not completely aware of the techniques in photography. I have been learning a lot of important aspects with respect to blog posts and photography over the last 2 years.  When I created an Instagram account last year just to post my daughter's everyday lunch box recipes, I came across so many wonderful people who are passionate about food even if they don't blog regularly. Interacting with other bloggers or people who are passionate ...

Vella dosai is a very healthy dish made with wheat flour and jaggery. It can be prepared instantly and can satisfy our sudden sweet cravings. This has been my favourite from childhood as it has jaggery in it. In my home, they usually make this to pair up with the regular instant wheat dosa . You can make this as a quick after school snack for kids, as it doesn't require any pre-planning.

                                            Semiya Payasam - Vermicelli Kheer is an easy to prepare sweet/payasam variety for any occasion. This is one of the payasam varieties widely liked by people of all age groups. It tastes great both hot and cold. I have given a simple version of making this payasam with milk and sugar. We can also add condensed milk to provide more richness to the dish. Will post that version soon.

Coconut Ladoo is the easiest sweet to prepare even for beginners. With just 2 ingredients, this is such a quick recipe which can be made even in the last minute for any occasion. You can even include the older kids for making this recipe as they will enjoy the rolling part. This sweet is ideal to pack for friends and families. I prepared this sweet for last Diwali itself and tried it again today. The recipe is adapted from Nestle Milkmaid site. As Diwali is approaching, I wanted to post this easy recipe.

Carrot halwa/ gajar halwa is a very easy sweet which can be prepared by beginners too. This is one of the classic Indian desserts which makes presence in most occasions. The only effort in preparing this dish is grating the carrots. Otherwise it is a breeze to make this sweet. It tastes great both hot and cold. There are many methods to prepare this sweet - using condensed milk, khoya etc. But the recipe I have shared here is a simple one by just using milk - similar to my beetroot halwa recipe

Beetroot halwa is a very easy sweet which can be prepared by beginners too. This was the only form in which I had beetroots during my childhood. I used to love this sweet prepared by my mother. This is a perfect way to include beetroot for kids who otherwise are fussy about eating this.

Maa ladoo is a very healthy and easy to prepare sweet. This is very good for growing kids as it contains pottukadalai(roasted gram). This is an easy to prepare sweet for any festivals or even for a quick evening snack.

Carrot badam kheer is a yummy dessert which tastes great, both hot and cold. This is an easy to prepare kheer and a good way to include carrots and almond for kids. This is also a great dish to prepare when we have guests at home or for parties, as it can be prepared in advance and also gives a good volume.

Mango pachadi is a traditional sweet prepared during festivals in south indian households especially on tamil new year day. It has multiple tastes like sweetness, sourness, spiciness and bitterness. When prepared on tamil new year day we also include little neem flowers fried in ghee. Here I have given the recipe without neem flowers.

Rasmalai is one of my favourite desserts which I have tasted only in restaurants and functions. It is nothing but rasagullas soaked in thick creamy saffron flavoured milk. All these days I have been thinking it is difficult to prepare this sweet at home, till I came across easy method in food blogs. This is a shortcut method of preparing this rich dessert at home using store bought rasagullas. Even beginners can attempt this recipe as the only effort involved is in reducing the milk to thick creamier consistency. It is a perfect dessert when you have guests at home or for small parties. It can even be prepared the previous day and refrigerated.

Aval Kesari is an easy to prepare sweet using poha/rice flakes. It requires lesser ghee when compared to rava kesari . I usually prepare vella aval (aval with jaggery). I came to know about this version with sugar through food blogs. Since aval is a favourite of lord krishna, aval kesari is a perfect neivedhyam dish for janmashtami/krishna jayanthi. I prepared this today on account of aadi month friday.

Sakkarai pongal is a traditional dish prepared with rice, moong dal and jaggery. Usually on the day of pongal, it is prepared using milk in a traditional brass pot(vengala paanai). Here I've given the recipe without using milk and by using pressure cooker method. This is an easy to prepare neivedhyam dish during festivals and occasions. I prepared this on friday since it was the 1st day of the tamil month aadi and also the 1st friday of aadi and served with ven pongal .

Gulab Jamun is a sweet universally loved by people of all age groups. This is an easy to prepare sweet for any occasion. I have given the recipe to prepare the sweet with the ready made instant mix. Though it is an easy to prepare dish, there are few tricks in kneading the dough and rolling the balls so that the right texture is achieved. I got few tips from my sister-in-law before preparing this, which i have shared in the notes section.

I came to know about Semiya kesari through many food blogs. Just like rava kesari this is an easy to prepare sweet which can be prepared in a short time. But it requires very less ghee when compared to rava kesari.

Vella aval is a sweet dish prepared with aval and jaggery. It is an instant sweet which can be prepared without much planning. Since both aval and jaggery are good for health, this can be given as an evening snack for kids. Also during festivals or any special pooja occasion, this can be prepared as a quick neivedhyam dish.

Corn flour halwa is also known as karachi halwa. It is very easy to prepare and does not require much ghee like other sweets. It has a glossy finish and can be cut into pieces also. Even beginners can try this easy sweet without much hassles. I saw this recipe from this blog and wanted to try it.

Aval/poha ladoo is a very healthy and easy to prepare sweet. This looks similar to rava ladoo except that it has the flavours of aval. This is a quick neivedhyam dish which can be prepared for gokulashtami/krishna jayanthi.

This is an instant version of sweet paniyaram/appam using wheat flour. This is prepared during festivals like karthigai deepam, krishna jayanthi etc. This is an easy to prepare sweet which can be done even by beginners.

Rava kesari is the easiest sweet that can be prepared with very simple ingredients and does not require much planning. If the points in the notes section are followed, the sweet comes out perfect.